7 smart and sassy crime fiction writers dish on writing and life.
It's The View. With bodies.

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

It's About Time

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN? Do
you recognize this woman? She’s Emmeline Pankhurst. leader of the British suffragette movement. I hear Meryl
Streep is playing her in an upcoming film! And I had to think--mightn't she make a great character in an historical mystery?

I
love when Jungle Red weeks take on themes–themes that weren’t planned. (I once
heard David McCullough speak, and someone asked him—do you have themes in your
books? And he said yes, and I write the books to discover what they are.)

This
week is turning out to be about imagination, and history, and time. About turning characters from one place onto characters from another. You’ll see
as this week’s blogs unfold.

So
as I was reading D. E. Ireland’s new book (more about “her” in a minute), I was
not only humming “I could have read all night” and loving the brilliant idea of
having Eliza Doolittle and Henry Higgins as sleuths (whoa) I also thought about
the imaginations of the two friends (Meg Mims and Sharon Pisacreta) who make up
the moniker DE Ireland.

How
did their brains work? And it turns out they get inspiration—from the past—the
real past, and the fictional past.They’re making history come alive. (Kind of like—Pygmalion.)

SHARON:It was the era as much as the
characters that intrigued us in our series based on Shaw’s Pygmalion. The years between the
official end of the Edwardian era in 1910 and the outbreak of WWI, served as a
bridge to our modern world.

Violent
protests by suffragettes, the popularity of the cinema and motorcar, and the
growing emergence of middle-class women in the workplace helped usher in the 20th
century.

Eliza
Doolittle might not have had such an easy time of it had she tried to transform
herself from a Cockney flower seller to an elocution teacher during the reign
of Queen Victoria.

MEG:So for Jungle Red, we challenged each other to
think of a stand-out historical mystery book or series that also prompted us to
write our own.

I chose Kate
Ross’s series set in Regency England. All are marvelously complex mysteries
that mesmerized me and whetted my dream of writing my own mystery one day.

Even though I’m not a true fan of the Regency
period, I was intrigued by Ross’s unusual amateur sleuth, Julian Kestrel--a new
style Sherlock Holmes.

He has a
keen intelligence, an uncanny ability to assess others, and varied skills in
weapons and stealth that served him well in investigations.His valet is a former cutpurse, loyal unto
death, and the dandified Kestrel wears his clothing and manners like a cloak to
hide his real persona.

In Ross’s
books, all the lush period details I loved in historical fiction came in
spades; the witty dialogue, the cultural and class distinctions between ladies
and gentlemen versus servants.

SHARON:I love historical mysteries that
shed new light on an old era. My favorite example is Margaret Lawrence’s superb
Hannah Trevor mystery series set in the aftermath of America’s Revolutionary
War. Her rendering is historically accurate and all the more eye-opening
because of it. Lawrence’s books don’t feature any cheery fife and drum corps,
or stirring patriotic speeches by John Adams and Thomas Jefferson.

Instead
we are introduced to a burgeoning nation mired in debt, and struggling to
recover from the Loyalist and Patriot divisions that tore communities and
families apart.

In Hearts and Bones, one of the best-written
debut books in the genre, midwife Hannah Trevor is abandoned in 1786 Maine
after her Loyalist husband flees to Canada. When a townswoman is murdered, Hannah
learns the victim had also been raped by men in the Rufford Patriot Division. Lawrence’s post-American Revolution world is filled
with despair, uncertainty and poverty. In such a time, fear and
suspicion run high which often lead to events spiraling out of control. In
other words, a perfect setting for a mystery series.

MEG: Like Hannah in 1786 Maine, Kestrel
in 1820 and Eliza Doolittle in 1913 London, historical characters need to find
themselves in the era best suited for them.

SHARON: Twenty – or even ten – years
earlier or later can make an enormous difference to both the novel’s characters
and storyline. As in life, so it is in literature. Timing is everything.

HANK: Of course, My Fair Lady is based on
Pygmalion, but it’s impossible not to envision Audrey Hepburn, right? Let’s think of other musicals that might
contain good amateur sleuths. Oliver? Annie?(Oh, I am laughing now…)

What do you think, Reds?

And Meg and Sharon have a copy of their new
book to give away to TWO lucky commenters!

*******************************

D.E. Ireland is a team of award-winning authors,
Meg Mims and Sharon Pisacreta.
Long time friends, they decided to collaborate on this unique series based on
George Bernard Shaw’s wonderfully witty play, Pygmalion, and flesh
out their own version of events post-Pygmalion.

WOULDN'T IT BE DEADLY -- Following her successful
appearance at an Embassy Ball—where Eliza Doolittle won Professor Henry
Higgins’ bet that he could pass off a Cockney flower girl as a duchess—Eliza
becomes an assistant to his chief rival Emil Nepommuck. After Nepommuck
publicly takes credit for transforming Eliza into a lady, an enraged Higgins
submits proof to a London newspaper that Nepommuck is a fraud. When Nepommuck
is found with a dagger in his back, Henry Higgins becomes Scotland Yard’s prime
suspect. Eliza realizes the only way to clear the Professor’s name is to
discover which of Nepommuck’s many enemies is the real killer.

40 comments:

I think the best historical books are the ones that get the period right and then seamlessly fit their characters into that world. Timing is indeed everything; I think it might be time for me to search out your “Wouldn’t It Be Deadly;” it sounds quite intriguing . . . .

Alas, another series for the TBR pile! One that sounds charming and fun--especially welcome!

Hmmm, what about Anna from the The King and I? Lots of intrigue at that period and in that setting and Anna is a strong female character. Or closer to modern times, Tracy Turnbled from Hairspray? Or Danny and Sandy from Grease? Both could be fun to write--snappy dialogue and the kids gotta have something to do in their 'happily ever afters'!

Having read Pygmalion in college (my professor was a huge Shaw fan and hated My Fair Lady, "that cute little musical"), I started this blog having a hard time imagining Eliza as a sleuth. But it's a snappy blurb. I like it.

I have such a hard time imagining characters/people as sleuths, but I can see a YA series with Annie and the crew on the case.

OMG, this book sounds so good! I adore the concept. Definitley added to my TBR stack. And @Shelly, I LOVE the idea of Harold Hill and Marian as sleuths! Set in that small town, they'd make great cozy mysteries!

It's About Time sounds very interesting, exactly the kind of book I like.I love historical mysteries. What I'm reading right now is historical, a mystery, and also has vampires and witches. Now I'm going to have to read the Hannah Trevor mysteries too.

These are SO great! Harold HIll would be so perfect--he's such a fast talker! And smart Marian.

I'm all about the Annie mysteries. With her pack of orphan pals to help, a la Oliver? And she can be a spy later, with her Warbucks and FDR connections. I'm gong to stop talking about it now.It's too good an idea.

Let's see...I think the idea of Danny and Sandy is BRILLIANT. Very Hart to Hart, right? Or how about Frenchie (was that Stockard Channing's name?) as detective? (Or maybe she's already Stephanie Plum.)

Mary Sutton, your professor was a Debbie Downer! I loved My Fair Lady (and can sing--albeit not very well--every line of every song), except for the very last scene. I was so disappointed that she fetched his damn slippers. My grandmother took me to see that movie in the theater when I was about six or seven, so it was my first experience going to the "show", and it holds a special place in my heart.

Oh, I can certainly see Shaw's Eliza and Higgins as detective partners. NOT married to each other as in My Fair Lady and the 1937 film. Or, as Shaw told us in the postcript to the play, with Eliza married to Freddie.

I'm actually not a fan of My Fair Lady, but I love Pygmalion. Why? Because I don't like Henry Huggins as a love interest for Eliza. I like him as a character, but she deserves better (or he needs to change drastically).

And I don't think I'd heard of the Revolutionary War series. Another book to add to my TBR list. Like I need more. (But please, I'd like to win your book. It really does sound good.)

What about Maria and the Captain from Sound of Music? World War II fascinates me, and I think a murder or two on the way to America plus setting into their new life could be very interesting.

Alva Vanderbilt. She wasn't just a vacuous social climber. She was a fierce feminist, a cunning politician and, had things been different a hundred years ago, she might have been the first female President of the US.

Hi, Meg and Sharon! Karen Ross was a friend of mine and I adored her books. They have a special place on my shelves, and maybe it's time I pulled them out and reread them. I haven't read Margaret Lawrence's books but will put those AND yours on my list. I love the idea of Eliza as a sleuth, and an Eliza based on Shaw's character rather than the musical.

If we're going for musical sleuths, I want to see Gene Kelly's Don Lockwood and Debbie Reynold's Kathy Selden. Imagine them investigated murders as Hollywood goes to the Talkies. What fun!

You will have to read our series to find out what happens to Higgins and Eliza - but as a hint, yes she has backbone.

I LOOOOOVE the idea of Don/Kathy! Omg, that would be so good and the era is perfect - Hollywood, silent vs. talkies, etc. And there is a cozy series with the Vanderbilts, altho Alva is not the protag - by Alyssa Maxwell.

Our next book, MOVE YOUR BLOOMING CORPSE, takes place at Ascot - coming out in 2015.

Good grief! My reading list is already rolling out the door, and now I will have to add more. Henry Huggins and Eliza Doolittle post-Pygmalion with Huggins accused of murder and Eliza being his champion this time. Well, that's definitely appealing! Your two heads have certainly come up with one great idea. Then, you have to go and mention two more intriguing series that capture my attention. Will the madness ever stop? Not if I'm lucky.

I am a sucker for historical fiction mystery, and imagining well-known people or literary characters having an extended effect on the world around them is titillating indeed. This post has set my mind whirling around possibilities for such stories. In the realm of musicals, I think Auntie Mame would be delicious.

One of my favorite musicals, My Fair Lady, and the characters are going to be sleuths? Love it! Can Mary Poppins be incorporated in there? She was there during the suffragette movement. Her skills could be extremely helpful in sleuthing.My idea for musical turned mystery, how about Dream Girls? They could be solving mysteries in gritty Motown. I envision lots of smoky nightclubs and evil doings.

It was lovely meeting you Monday at the Coop. I love this site and read as many books as I can of the authors here. I think the idea of making Eliza and Henry sleuths is just brilliant. This is another book on my wish list for sure.

I love Karen's idea of Maria von Trapp, only I would have her spying after she leaves the convent and spies on the outside pursuing her new career all the way to Vermont with her strategically placed ski lodge as a cover.

So many great ideas - I love the premise! Most od my favorite musicals have already been suggested, but you all forgot Gigi - wouldn't she and Gaston, in 1900 Paris, make a great era and story? And now my TBR pile (already over the top!) is growing exponentially!

Okay, I love all the suggestions, but I've been pondering the possibilities for a while now and I can't decide between Don Quixote and Sancho Panza in Man of La Mancha [tilting at all those windmills]andMatilda and Miss Honey in Matilda So I'm simply going to suggest them both . . . .

The book sounds good. I looked at the excerpt on Amazon. Yes, I've heard of Emmeline Pankhurst, probably first in Elizabeth Peters' Amelia Peabody series. She may have also been mentioned in Anatomy of Death by Felicity Young. I love Victorian stories.

Mame, yes!! And I’m also all for the Upsons being the first victims. I’d also love to see Dr. Frank-N-Furter, Janet and Brad solve some crimes. And how about the Marx Brothers as investigators, with Margaret Dumont as their sidekick? Oh, this is fun!! I think another great series could be the women from How to Marry a Millionaire - Lauren Bacall, Marilyn Monroe and Betty Grable, with William Powell as their Bosley.